May 31st, Cape Blanco, SP, OR

Friday May 31st was another clear day with the temps in the high 50s. I have to correct yesterday's temp as it really was about 62. There is a penalty for clear skies on the coast in the spring; wind. We had 20-30 mph winds on the beach but are pretty well protected in the campground.

We hit the south beach after lunch and were glad the wind was in our faces as we walked away from where we started. It was much easier returning with the wind at our backs.

Road from the campground down to near the beach.



View looking north towards Cape Blanco Lighthouse.



View looking south towards Port Orford Head.



This was named Whale Rock by our girls years ago. Not sure if that is its proper name.



View of Cape Blanco Lighthouse.



One happy Sadie running and sniffing or sniffing and running. I'm not sure which she likes better but she loved it. She was starting to slow down at this point.



Cape Blanco Lighthouse.





Tide pools are a long steep walk down and especially back up. Not good for our knees and hips. I guess we aren't as young as we think we are but it was a climb even back in the 70s.



View north of the beach going to the Sixes River. Not many people walk this beach. Near the Sixes River you can cut inland and return to the campground via the Historic Hughes House the home of a lumber baron in the late 1800s.



We went down to watch the sunset and a couple of deer were watching us.



We expected to see the sunset in front of us like it was last September but it was more to the north. Still pretty.



We will move on in the morning with plans to spend three nights at Beverly Beach State Park north of Newport, OR. It is one we haven't stayed at before so we are looking forward to new things to see and do. One thing that we will definitely do is go north to Depoe Bay. There is a restaurant called Gracie's Sea Hag and they have my favorite clam chowder, and if we are lucky they will have their coconut cream pie available. If not they usually have Marionberry pie. Yum!!!

May 30th, Cape Blanco SP, OR

Cape Blanco has always been one of our favorite spots since we were first here in the 1970s. The trees have grown but the beach in each direction from the lighthouse, the tide pools, the trails, and views keep us coming back.

Today the weather started out mostly cloudy but by afternoon it was clear skies with the temps in the mid 70s, fantastic!

Our campsite is in a more sunny location away from the bluff campsites that are in dense forest and dark. If you like to go out behind your campsite and see the ocean they may be for you. There are various berries growing wild and I'm not sure of what they all are but it looks like blackberry, wild raspberry (may be a thimble berry), gooseberries, etc. Nothing ripe at this point but they are generally producing in late July and August.





We went into Port Orford and out to Port Orford Head which is the site of a Coast Guard Life Boat Station that is now a museum. There is a trail to the point which had a lookout tower and a loop trail that follows the headlands to the point and around to the former tower location then to Nellie's cove where the lifeboats were launched.

From the headlands point you can look north to see Cape Blanco and the beach between the two points.





The sea lions sleeping on the rocks.



There all kinds of flowering plants and again, I don't know what all of them are. I just know they are pretty.









Nellie's Cove where the lifeboats were launched.



A campground shot.



We are getting our computer issues resolved to the point of functional so hopefully it is clear saling or posting from now on.

Tomorrow will likely be a day walking the beach and letting Sadie run to her hearts content or at least sniffing to her hearts content. We may go to the lighthouse but as we have done the tour before we may not go in.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be better than today. Like with all forecasts, "We will see".

May 29th, Fowlers USFS Campground, McCloud, CA

Tuesday turned out to be a great day with warm temps and mostly sunny skies. We took the trail to the Middle Falls which is 1 mile along the river and it was beautiful. There were all different kinds of plants and flowers in addition to the dogwoods that were about finished blooming. The trail takes you to the pool at the bottom of the falls and then to a switchback trail that takes you to the rim overlook above the falls. A nice climb to the top.





We drove into McCloud to check out the old company mill town. The mill has been closed for a number of years and all the homes sold to the people in town. Not much open on a Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend. On the way back we drove to the Upper Falls and again, it was a sight to see.



We left early this morning on our way to the coast and Cape Blanco State Park just north of Port Orford. We were fortunate as the clouds cleared and gave us a great view of Mt. Shasta.



The last night at Fowlers Campground. Relaxing by a nice fire with the wood provided by the US Forest Service.



We arrived at Cape Blanco and the rain we had on the way had disappeared and it looks like it will be nice tomorrow. We are working our way through some computer problems so if it takes us some time to update, you know why. We will get it resolved and keep posting as much as we can.


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North Coast Trip (Late May & June 2013)

We plan to go to Manzanita Lake, Lassen National Park, over to the coast of Oregon and Washington, then to eastern Washington and Oregon before returning to California. We will be staying at a number of state parks with our longest stay being near Olympic Nat'l Park. We will end up at the Northwood RV Owners Assn. Rally in La Grande, OR June 18-23rd before departing for home.

We have explored the coast several times before but there is always something new to see and do. there are some spots that we like so much that we visit them again when we can.

We plan to enjoy it all!


Change of Plans

Monday May 27th


So much for our plans; we changed them shortly before we departed on our trip. The weather at Lassen National Park was not looking good to say the least. High temperatures in the very low 50’s and some nights below freezing with rain predicted for most of the time we planned to be there. Instead we chose a campground we had enjoyed many years ago when it was just the two of us and later with our girls. We are at a Fowlers Campground (USFS) which is 15 miles east of I-5 and about a mile south of Hwy 89. We are about 5 miles east of the town of McCloud and we are on the McCloud River.


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The campground is nothing like it was years ago which was a small (10-15) sites, most of the trees before you get to the campground had been logged off, and it was a little dusty. Now there are 39 sites that are no longer dirt with pavement under the picnic tables, and around the fire rings. Everywhere else is natural pine needles, mature trees, and bushes now. The paths to the three waterfalls are all paved with overlooks along the way and at the lower falls that we walked to tonight. There are three falls; upper, middle, and lower with the middle falls over 50’ high into a nice pool if I remember it correctly. We will see tomorrow and I don’t remember much about the upper falls.

There were several people fishing the river and below the lower falls. The river is well stocked with rainbow trout so this place is popular.













The weather is much better than expected with only an occasional light shower and some mist or drizzle. Nothing to keep us inside. Temperature is in the mid 50s and it is supposed to be near 70 and partly cloudy tomorrow. As with all forecasts....we will see.